Beanie Guy: Take Three

The Saga of the Cheap DVD Player, Part Three

Beanie Guy had a quizzical look on his face when I walked into his shop this arvo.
I explained that I had tried 7 different DVDs of all sorts and nothing worked.
He plugged it in, put a disk in the tray and ....... it worked!!
I was not impressed!
We discussed disk types, other possible causes etc.
He tried another disk, it was with ironic pleasure that I saw the display come up "Bad Disk"
Partial vindication at least.
He tried another one, it pretended to load but really didn't.
He was beginning to believe I had a legitimate complaint and wasn't just some techno dumbo.

He offered to exchange it with one that he assured me worked cause they'd been using it in the shop.
OK.

I brought it home, plugged it in and tried it out in the Bermuda Triangle of electronic devices that occupies the corner of our living room.

Boldly I inserted a dubbed disk of some footy recorded on TV.
"loading....loading.....loading.....Bad Disk"!!
Not entirely unexpected but disappointing none-the-less!
A 2nd and 3rd disk were treated with the same disdain.

I switched tack and tried a pre-recorded disk, an episode of House.
Success! It loaded and played!

What about Carl Barron? More success.

There followed a succession of test cases, pre-recorded mainly but a few burnt by my Dad, all of which worked.

So, I have a DVD player that will play things it thinks come from a reliable or reputable source and dismisses things that it considers unworthy.

Do I cut my losses and accept I've got a half useful machine, or do I take it back and get a refund, all $48 of it!!

I don't know.



Inspiring Umpiring
It was an umpiring day today. At lunchtime I umpired a footy game between Busselton and Clontarf. To everyone's surprise Busso thrashed the Clontarf boys, the result has been reversed every other time we've played them, and a few of their boys didn't like it much and started having a go at me and blaming the umpiring! I thought I did a very good job and was pleased with my efforts. I dismissed their complaints as sour grapes.

Tonight I umpired two volleyball games. My team had a bye which always feels very unsatisfactory so I had make do with whistle blowing. Tonight was pay night so I was very popular with all the other refs as I distributed their wages for the last 6 weeks.

Internet Problems
There was a major dilemma in the Holt Press House today: the internet wouldn't work! The wireless router refused to deliver and nothing seemed to fix it despite repeated attempts by The Hair. I'm pleased to report (the obvious) fact that it is working again. I tried all sorts of diagnostics without success until I read in one of the help pages that old favourite, turn evrything off, disconnect the modem and router, wait 10 seconds and try again! For whatever unknown and inexplicable reason, this had the desired effect and Holt Press is back on line! And a good thing too, there were some rumbling withdrawal symptons brewing!

Myth Busted

Ha!

So much for the cheap DVD player myth!

I took it back today and said "It doesn't work!"

The guy in the shop (picture long hair, knitted beanie, pierced lip) said "Did you try it in more than one power point?"

"No" (as if?!!) (power's power as far as I know)

Beanie guy plugs it in, hey presto, it works! The tray slides in and out, it responds to the remote, it works!!!

Beanie guy is gracious in victory. "I had something similar happen to me, too many things plugged into the one power board, not enough amps...more techno babble"

OK I accept I'm wrong! No need to rub it in.

Chastened, I take it home and plug it in a different socket. Sure enough it works, the tray opens and closes, the remote turns it on and off.

OK.

Let's put a disk in and see what this baby can do!

Disk inserted, a footy game I'd dubbed from the hard drive, "loading....loading....loading....

bad disk" says the display as if disciplining a mischievous puppy.

I'll try another one. "loading....loading....loading....bad disk"

Hmmm!

Let's try a pre-recorded disk, the Geelong preliminary final, I know that works.

"loading....loading....loading....bad disk"

HMMMM!

What about this one, The Treble-Manchester United, Sport Boy has watched it a dozen times.

"loading....loading....loading....bad disk"

Not impressed!

One more, what about a rental, something Mrs Holt Press got out the other day.

Signs of life, different noises, no bad disk message, a series of zeroes appear.

I press play. Nothing happens.

I press menu. Nothing happens.

I press all the buttons I can think of. Nothing happens.

"Bad machine".

Not only does the cheap DVD player not play burnt disks, copied disks or rented disks, it won't even play brand new disks. It won't play any disks!

I'll be paying another visit to Beanie Guy tomorrow! I don't think he'll be pulling a rabbit out of his knitted hat this time! I hope not anyway!

Digital Update

I'm home from another victorious night at the Scrabble Club, 3 from 3, the last by over 200 points! The ladies are starting to comment about playing me and not winning. I suggested I could stop coming but they said no, they enjoyed the challenge.

They are a nice group of ladies but they do tend to whinge about their letters a lot. "I've only got one vowel" "I've got four E's" "I've picked up another V" etc. My attitude to Scrabble is you do the best you can with what you get, getting difficult sets of letters is part of the challenge. In other words, "Toughen up Princess"!

And of course, there's always a nice supper in between the second and third games!



I bought a new digital set top box this afternoon. The old one packed up a few weeks ago and our picture on the ABC is just snow and static without it. I tried Dick Smith, Retravision and Harvey Norman and couldn't get anything under $120 so I tried that other well known electrical goods retailer, Action Supermarkets, and sure enough I found one there for $49. I brought it home, plugged it in and Bob's your uncle, a beautiful pictuire once more, plus ABC 2 and SBS. At present there's no GWN (7) or WIN (9 & 10) but everyone says they will start digital transmission in April next year. Our GWN picture is only marginally better than the ABC without the STB so that will be a big step forward. Of course, the Olympics start this weekend and are on GWN so that will be a source of frustration. I've thought about getting a sattelite antenna but they seem to be a bit expensive. I also looked with a certain amount of longing at a 42" plasma with built in digital tuner for just under $1300 but restrained my cunsumer urge, we are on the verge of a recession after all (apparently).

Funny how the price of oil has dropped but the price of petrol hasn't!

While I was at it I bought a cheap DVD player, A. because ours isn't working properly, the hard drive records OK but it won't play or accept any disks, and is filling up with recorded Geelong games that I haven't been able to dub onto DVD, and B. because I've heard that the cheaper the DVD player the more likely it is to play a wide range of DVDs, hired, recorded, burnt etc. The guy in the shop agreed that that was the case so I bought one. Only problem was, when I got it home and plugged it in it wouldn't work! The power would come on but no other function responded, not even opening and closing! So, it will be going back to where it came from tomorrow.








A new "breed" of super heroes.

Old Friends New in Town

When we moved to Busselton four years ago we left our church at Joondalup and the many friends we had made there, including the pastor, Lee and his wife Cathy. As chairperson of the management committee of the church I had played a key role in approaching, interviewing and appointing Lee as pastor, and felt a tinge of guilt when we announced we were moving not long after.

Sadly things did not go smoothly at the church and subsequently not only did Lee leave but the church disbanded within a couple of years.

Fast forward to the present and the Church of Christ in Busselton have just appointed their new pastor: Lee! I called him today to welcome him to town and wish him as good a time in moving here as we've experienced. It will be good to catch up and renew our friendship. I've invited them over for a BBQ in a couple of weeks.

I'm contemplating a significant decision at the moment. I can't say anything about it just yet as you never know who reads this blog, I've gotten in trouble more than once from things I've written on Holt Press! I'll let my loyal readers know as soon as I can, my disloyal readers will just have to wait.

I finished a painting tonight, the first one for a while, and made a start on another. It felt good to get the paints and brushes out again.



I found a site with lots of funny pictures on it recently, this is one of them.

If I'm this old I should be smarter than this...

I played my first game of footy for two seasons this afternoon and based on how knackered I was during the game, and how sore I am after the game, it may be another two years until I play my next one.


I love footy and when I was young had some reasonable ability.


I'm not young any more and don't have much ability left either.


Because Collie only had 7 players I, and 10 other Busso players, were traded to the visitors.


In the first quarter I couldn't get near the ball and when I did I thought I was going to cark it from the exertion required!


Thankfully things improved after that in that I got the ball a few times, and no longer felt I was about to expire. Most of my disposals found a team mate and I ran the ball out of the back line Matthew Scarlett style 3-4 times.


My ankle held up OK. Breaking it two years ago was the reason I haven't played since.


My calf on the other hand is sore from a knock in a marking contest.


No more than I deserve!



I went to see The Dark Knight tonight and I enjoyed it. I was a huge Batman fan as a kid but the modern interpretations of the Caped Crusader are a long way removed from the old Kapow/Zap/Smash TV show. It was dark, courtesy of Heath Ledger's starring performance as the Joker and Batman's own inner turmoil as a loved but feared vigilante operating outside the law. It was heavy on the violence too, no way is it a kid's movie. I will not be surprised if Ledger wins a posthumous Oscar for his performance, it is quite something.

Sport Boy Update. He's getting a little better each day and this afternoon ventured out to come and watch me try to play football. He'll be off school all week which may drive both him and his mother mad.

Favourite Daughter Update. FD and some friends went away for the weekend and went 4 wheel driving but unfortunately one of the vehicles rolled over and a girl was seriously injured. She is in a critical condition in hospital. Favourite Daughter is Ok but obviously shaken.

Two Good Wins, One Bad Loss

The Cornerstone 11s had a 3-2 win against Margaret River Tigers this morning in a close and exciting game. The team overcame the handicap of Sport Boy's absence, though Jacob did say at half time that he was missing him. At that stage the score was 1-0 but we'd been kicking against the wind in the first half. By the end Harry had scored twice and Ben C converted a penalty and we had held on despite conceding two goals ourselves.
Sport Boy is brighter today but still having a lot of pain and walking very slowly if he has to go anywhere.

I hung out in Margaret River for a little while before heading home, adding a couple of badges to my collection, and some rocky road from the Ye Olde Lolly Shoppe!

I joined The Heir at Noel's place to watch the Bledisloe Cup game. Sadly the Wallabies could not repeat last week's performance and went down to the All Blacks by 29 points! Noel was so happy I thought he was going to do the Haka in his living room.

I made it to church for the first time in several weeks tonight and gave a bit of a spiel about the YouthCARE committee and the church's need to support it. The service went for a long time so I didn't stay till the end.
I had a football game to watch!!

The Cats v the Tigers at Docklands. Despite a sluggish and inaccurate start Geelong went on to record a 10 goal victory, their 36th win from their last 38 games, an AFL record.
They are in great form and unless the wheels fall off in very dramatic fashion they are looking good to win back-to-back premierships. The only thing better than winning the Grand Final is winning two Grand Finals! I have to confess that I had a bad dream the other night, in which not only didn't the Cats win the premiership, they didn't even make the Grand Final! I was mightily relieved when I woke up !

Good News X 2

Good news.

Sport Boy is home.

While he is still in pain and discomfort, he is also much better and brighter than he was yesterday and as a result the Dr. said he could come home.
The Heir visited him at the hospital this morning and that lifted his spirit significantly, and three of his mates from school, Ben Jacob and Joel, visited him at home this afternoon too.

He moves slowly and gingerly, grimaces often and has some very sensitive areas, but he's definitely improving.
I sat with him for half an hour while he soaked in the bath before I headed off to my taxi shift.
When I dropped into home at about 11.30 he was still awake, propped up on the sofa, watching a soccer DVD!
I'm glad to say that now, 3.00am, he is asleep, though still on the sofa.


Footy Talk Back
I listened to the footy on the radio while I was driving tonight and enjoyed hearing the ABC call of Hawthorn thumping Collingwood. We all know there are certain irrefutable truths in life and one of them is that there is no middle ground with Collingwood, you either love em or you hate em. They have more fans than any other team so more love them than any other team, but conversely, 15 other sets of fans loathe them so more hate them than any other team.
Thus, Collingwood losing sits just below your own team winning on the ladder of football enjoyment.
With this in mind, I rang the ABC team in the post-match talk-back and was eventually put through to Gerard Whately. A previous caller had celebrated the fact that Collingwood had lost.

Our conversation went like this:

Me" How much did Collingwood lose by?"

ABC: "54 points"

Me: "And how many games have they lost in a row?"

ABC: "Three"

Me: "That's all, I just wanted to hear you say it again, thanks".

ABC: amidst sounds of laughter "There are some sick listeners out there!"

And loving it!!


Even though Sport Boy is out of action for a few weeks, my coaching responsibilities continue. The team are playing down at Margaret River at noon tomorrow against the MR Tigers, so I'd better go to bed and at least try and get some sleep. At this point I feel quite wide awake so I'm not sure how successful I'll be. Undoubtedly I'll feel it in the morning.

Medical Update

It's been another tough day for Sport Boy. I spoke to him this afternoon and asked how he was feeling? His feeble little voice replied with a one word answer that made it abundantly clear how he was: "crap"!
Mrs Holt Press suggested that it would be good if I came up to visit to boost his morale a bit, and to deliver all the things she forgot to bring yesterday! Tape measure, scissors, phone charger etc.
I bought a couple of bags of lollies and a packet of chips for him too and set off for Bunbury.

He was sitting up on the bed when I arrived, his torso stained with red antiseptic paint from the op, his wound visible beneath the plastic dressing, a look of misery on his face.
His first comment was, "Don't make me laugh".
I replied that would be difficult seeing as I'm such an exceptionally funny person but I'd try my best. The grimace that followed was enough to convince me of the need to follow his request assiduously. He was in pain, feeling nauseous and exhausted from a recent trip to the toilet. Walking etc are very uncomfortable and taxing at this stage.

I held his hand and tried to comfort him while Mrs HP took advantage of the team tag to go and buy some credit for her phone. His dinner arrived, chicken nuggets, mashed potato, peas and corn and I cut it up and fed him small mouthfuls. He only managed about 7-8 before he'd had enough. It tasted good but he was too sore and unwell to get any more down.

Mrs HP returned. I went and got the Captain Starlight console and set up a movie for him.
He was watching "Cats and Dogs" when I left. I didn't want to go but I have a volleyball game in ten minutes that I had to get back for.
His last comment broke my heart. "Do you have to go?" "I'll miss you".

I've arranged for three of his school friends to visit him tomorrow after school and I'll sneak in another quick visit before my taxi shift. Hopefully this time tomorrow he'll be feeling a bit better.

Sport Boy Goes Under the Knife

Sport Boy no longer has an appendix.

It was removed sometime between 6.30 and 7.30 this evening.

He did not enjoy the experience.

We got to the hospital in Bunbury about 1.00 this morning and they admitted him shortly after.
It took about an hour before we got settled in a ward, him in a hospital bed, me on a folding stretcher! The pain he'd been experiencing for the last three days was treated with morphine! It had a dramatic effect! It spun poor Sport Boy out and he didn't like it much, but it did reduce the pain and enable him to sleep.

We were awoken this morning by nurses and doctors checking on him, doing the obligatory poking of the belly (his not mine) to the accompanying query, "Does that hurt?"
"Appendicitis" was the unanimous diagnosis, "sign here" (me not him) giving them permission to cut open my little boy and take out the offending piece of anatomy.

I rang work to tell them where I was and I wouldn't be there this morning then called Mrs Holt Press with the news and she packed a bag and headed for Bunbury. She must have got lost or weigh-laid along the way because the 40 minute journey took her two and a half hours. By then it was nearly lunchtime (for me not him, he was fasting pre-op) and I figured as I'd already missed half the day at work I'd stay with the patient for moral support. This was when the projected time for surgery was 2.30.

2.30 came and went, the surgery didn't! I read more of my book and Sport Boy got hungrier and more uncomfortable. He at least had the benefit of Captain Starlight to cheer him up and the use of a game and TV console, also courtesy of Captain Starlight, to keep him occupied. Another little boy in the next bed had had his appendix out on Monday so they shared stories and turns on the Nintendo.

His Dad challenged me to a game of chess. I accepted but was concerned when he explained a couple of rules I'd never heard of before we started. My concern was further increased when I committed a blunder with my second move, losing one of my rooks to his bishop. But I managed to fight back and stave off his attacks, including what I realised was an imminent check-mate with a move that even impressed me with its brilliance and audacity! The tide had turned and I was now on the attack. It was parry and thrust, attack and counter attack, until another fiendishly clever move on my part was followed by a major blunder on his and I had him, check mate!
He challenged me to a rematch but visitors and interruptions conspired against his hopes for revenge and then his appendix-less son was discharged and I remained undefeated chess king of the appendectomy ward!

Meanwhile, back on the surgery front, the latest estimate of theatre time was 4.00pm. Sport Boy was becoming more distressed as the lack of food and drink bit and a headache developed but thankfully some Painstop took the edge off it and he fell asleep. Mum and Walter had called in to visit him enroute to Perth and that cheered him up a little bit.

When he awoke he was hungry, thirsty, in pain and not happy. I felt helpless and distressed myself seeing him in pain. I held his hand and fought back tears then encouraged him to breathe deeply and as he breathed out to relax all the parts of his body that were tensed up. I'm pleased to say this had a calming effect and not long after he fell back to sleep. The latest time estimate for the operation was 7.30pm!
It had been a long day and looked like being a long night.
I read my book, Mrs Holt Press knitted and did cryptic crosswords and we waited...

Finally the good news came, at about 6.15, they were ready for him in the operating theatre.
I kissed him and told him I loved him and they wheeled him off down the corridor, Mrs HP at his side to accompany him to theatre (only one parent allowed!).
I went and got some food for us both and we returned to waiting, reading, knitting, watching TV etc.

He was away a long time, longer than we'd anticipated but finally around 8.15 they said we could go down to the recovery room and bring him back to the ward, although again, only one parent was allowed. This time I went.

When I got there however, Sport Boy was not in good shape, he was distressed and in pain, sweaty and bleeding and not ready to go back to the ward. I tried to encourage him to take the oral pain medication the nurse was trying to administer but he couldn't handle the taste and in the end, despite his protests, he was given more morphine. Again it worked almost instantly, causing him to settle down and become sleepy but it was nearly another hour before they gave him the all clear to return to the ward. His pulse was up and they wanted to get it down a bit but in the end the anaethatist gave the go ahead and he was allowed out of post-op. He was semi-conscious and not in pain and when he got back to the ward fell asleep fairly quickly.
I rang Favourite Daughter and The Hair & Heir to update them on their little brother's progress and they were all relieved and sent their love and prayers.

That was my cue to depart. Mrs Holt Press has clocked on for the night shift, sleeping beside him on the fold out bed. There's another infant in the ward now who is not very happy and crying a lot so I hope for Sport Boy and Mrs HP's sake he has settled down by now and they're able to get some sleep.

SB will be in hospital at least until Friday.

No soccer for a few weeks and no Country Week training but as Country Week itself is not until October he should be well and truly recovered in time for that.

It's been a long night and day and night but the worst of it is over now and hopefully my beautiful little boy will make a swift recovery.

Sport Boy Unwell

I'm about to take Sport Boy to the hospital in Bunbury to see a surgeon. We've just been to Busso hospital and the Dr has referred him to Bunbury with suspected appendicitis.
He's been sick since Sunday with constant tummy pain and went to the Dr and the hospital yesterday. Things haven't improved so we're taking the precaution of checking it out at Bunbury.

Sport Boy's greatest concern? The news that if he has to have his appendix out he could miss up to 6 weeks of sport (soccer)!

Let's hope it's not that serious!

Smog Effect?

The Chinese authorities keep insisting that the air in Beijing won't affect the athletes at the Olympics. I'm not so sure!

Day of Rest and Recovery

It was a tough return to taxi driving last night, my first shift since getting back from Melbourne.
I ended up with the all-nighter, not finishing until 6.00am. I slept the last hour of it in a fierce storm at a beach front car park with the car being buffeted by the wind and the waves pounding against the shore. Prior to that my last fare, at about 4.30 was hard yakka, I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open and I was crawling along at about 40km/hr.
Even after sleeping the last hour I could barely stay awake and drove back to the depot at about 30km/hr.
I didn't even stay up long enough to count my takings, I went straight to bed and slept till after 3.00 this arvo.
On the plus side, the long shift was quite profitable and I had three jobs to Dunsborough and one return which is always a bonus.

This afternoon I painted for a while while listening to the footy, watched the episodes of House I missed while I was away and then went into town and bought noodles for the family for dinner.
Seafood Mee Goreng mmmm!!

Yesterday afternoon I repaired and relocated our letter box which has been attacked by vandals a number of times. Hopefully its new location further back from the street will help protect it. Buoyed by completing one domestic task I ambitiously attempted another: replacing the washers in the kitchen! This was not as simple or successful as I'd hoped it would be, with the hot tap refusing to turn on or off after the new washer was inserted. This lead to further ambition: the complete replacement of the hot and cold tap and faucet which has been leaking and in need of attention for a while. I had previously suggested to Mrs Holt Press that perhaps we should swap it for a new post mix tap. I trekked off to Bunnings and purchased a moderately priced piece of plumbing that looked like it would do the trick and returned home, intent on installing it. Let's just say that I have renewed and profound respect for plumbers! The old tap is so inconveniently positioned/attached under the sink it would take a tradesman descended from Harry Houdini to get at it. Unable to undo it from below, I tried attacking it from above, attempting to prise the whole sink up enough to allow access with a large spanner. No good! So, the current staus is: sink in place but not secured, hot tap broken, new taps not attached, temporary replacement installed for hot tap to enable water to be turned back on, plumbers number ready to be called first thing Monday morning.
I feel humbled and chastened that I contemplated such a demanding task, one that was clearly beyond my limited capabilities, in that it required some mechanical aptitude, plumbing skill, and common sense.
Better men than I, like Phil or Birchy would no doubt have finished the job and still had time to write a book or father another child before the day was finished, but lesser mortals like myself, and Broadie, just scratch our heads and marvel at the apparent ease with which these super-men complete such tasks. I blame my genes!

Cornerstone V Vasse: A Ripper

It was back into the fray of coaching Sport Boy's soccer team this morning. After the term break the under 11's league have been divided into the Premier League (Top 5 teams) and Championship (bottom 4 teams). We'll play each team once then play off in knockout finals.
Today was the first Premier League game, against Vasse with whom we drew 6-6 early in the season. That game was a classic, today's was the equal or better of it.
Vasse scored three goals in the first half to take a 3-0 lead. Poor goal-keeping and defending on our part got us into trouble although their third goal was a ripper.
We pulled one back before half time to get back some confidence.
I made a couple of changes at half time, swapping the goalie and jiggling the midfield around a little.
We played with much greater fluidity and effectiveness in the second half and withing 10 minutes had equalised. The third goal was one of the best I've evr seen in a kids game, a high cross from Jacob and Daniel headed it in. Eilidh, who is a little timid but tries hard then got on the end of an attacking move and poked the ball in the net. The momentum was with us until another we let in another "soft" goal.
To compound matters, their goalie was on fire, making one great save after another.
But the kids didn't give up. Sport Boy was having a great game and scored one goal and set up another to put us 5-4 in front. The last 10 minutes were very intense with both teams having chances but we finally got the goal to seal the game with another good goal from Eilidh.

Final score 6-4 and both teams received a rousing reception from the parents and coaches at the end of the game.

Cats v Hawks: A Ripper

There's been a 17 week build up to tonight's game between Geelong and Hawthorn and the result lived up to the hype and expectation; it was a thriller, an arm wrestle, a packed house at the MCG, a struggle for supremacy, and the good news is the good guys won. The Cats got up by 11 points.

Late in the 3rd quarter and early in the last the momentum was with the Hawks and they briefly hit the front, but the Cats refused to surrender and fought back, led by the brilliance of Joel Selwood and Jimmy Bartel.

Considering Geelong were without Gary Ablett, Cameron Ling, Darren Milburn, David Wojinski, and lost Paul Chapman to a hamstring injury before half time, it was an even more impressive victory against the team in third place and who are widely tipped to be in the Grand Final.

I broke my usual rule regarding the footy when Geelong are playing. Normally I avoid the radio, the news, the net, or any other source of info that might reveal the result and ruin the game for me until I can watch it on the telly. But with so much riding on this game I just had to listen to it on the ABC, or the first quarter at least. At 1/4 time I decided to leave the radio on until 1/2 time! Similarly at the long break I couldn't bring myself to stop listening and then when it was only 4 points the diff at 3/4 time I just had to know what would happen. I had to put up with the open bias of Parkin and Schwab in the commentary, both Hawthorn men through and through, and their constant complaints and criticism. Gerard Whately is a devout Geelong fan yet his commentating was unbiased and enthusiastic and an example to the rest of how it should be done.

Sport Boy and I were greatly relieved and pleased when the final siren sounded and the Cats had won.

I then went round to Dave's and watched it all over again! It was much more relaxing and enjoyable knowing we would win!

NZ Names

I heard this gem of a news article on Triple J today and I knew you'd want me to share it with you.

A New Zealand magistrate has criticised parents who give their children stupid names and ordered that a young girl's name be changed to prevent her being ridiculed.

Apparently, naming your child "Talulah does the hula from Hawaii" is not cool with the NZ judiciary.

Nor were they impressed with "Midnight Chardonnay", "Violence" or my personal favourite, "No. 16 Bus Shelter".

It's a shame the Kiwi's imaginations aren't matched by their Court's sense of humour.

Close Encounter with the Pope-Mobile

Pope Benedict XVI leaving the welcoming mass at Barangaroo (Bar-n-Guru?) on Thursday last week. Just after he passed me the pope-mobile took off and disappeared out of sight. Despite this swift exit the police saw fit to hold the crowd back for a further 15 minutes to let him get clear as a security precaution. It seemed somewhat unnecessary, we were on foot, he was in a bullet proof car and well on his way.

Today was my first day back at work and I eased into it with some unpacking and decorating, I always collect a bundle of souvenirs when I travel, tickets, badges, maps, cards etc, mementos more than souvenirs. I've taken to collecting metal and enamel pins and badges and came home with a bundle of them from Melbourne and Sydney. I found a stack of them at a second hand store in Brunswick the day before I left.

I bought several hoodie jackets for the family in Melbourne, they are all the rage over there. Favourite Daughter, Sport Boy, The Heir and Mrs Holt Press all like theirs, but to my surprise The Hair wasn't so impressed, "they're gangsta" being his assessment!! The irony is I thought he'd be the most into them!! Sport Boy doesn't mind, he says he'll have them! They're too big for him at the moment so it looks like he'll have a steady supply of jackets for the next few years!

Footy Trip Blog Link

For the next couple of weeks you can keep up with my adventures by going to the Melbourne Footy Trip blog.

Bon Voyage

Leaving for Perth now.

Flying to Melbourne tomorrow.

Yeehaa!!!!!

It's Going to 5

The Wimbledon Men's Singles Final has just entered a 5th set after some breath-taking tennis from both players.
Nadal won the first two sets 6-4 6-4 and looked like he was going to depose the king but Fderer fought back, taking the next two sets in tie-breakers 7-6 7-6 saving match points in the process.
It is edge of the seat stuff!
Thank goodness I live in WA where it's only quarter to three in the morning and not in the eastern states where it's approaching 5am!!
And thank goodness I'm on holiday and can sleep in in the morning!

I'm barracking for Federer though I don't really mind who wins. I do wish Nadal would stop pulling his undies out of his bum! If you don't like playing with a wedgie Rafa, don't wear such tight shorts!!

The Final

Tonight's the night. The BIG finale. The Final. Only the best are left and now they slug it out to see who is the champion. There's nothing better than seeing supremely fit and super skilled athletes fighting it out for victory. And if you can't be there in person, the next best thing is watching it on the TV from the comfort of your lounge room, Vanilla Diet Coke in one hand and remote in the other! That's where I am right now, enjoying the contest and the spectacle.
Sport Boy is with me, barracking for his favourite.
We've watched their progress through the rounds, their victories in the semi-finals, and now they face off in the biggest final of all!





The big question is, can they overcome Amazon, Viper, Tank and Thunder in the race to The Eliminator?





Yes, it's Grand Final night on Gladiators!!!!



























Oh, and later tonight Roger Federer plays Rafael Nadal in the men's singles final in his attempt to win an unprecedented 6th successive Wimbledon title!!